A Brilliant Mind
by Appearances are deceiving
Summary: By all accounts, Sakura Haruno is a certifiable genius, but blinded by a childhood crush. With a newfound sense of determination and a desire to never be called weak again, what challenges and adventures lay ahead in the future for her? REWRITE OF ABM - IN PROGRESS


**Hello! This is the new version of "A Brilliant Mind," written almost 6 years after I posted the original. There are some MAJOR revisions and such, so I'm not sure how true to the original this will be. The original is still up on my profile, but be warned…it's very cringe.**

**Enjoy and thank you for your support!**

**Chapter 1**

It was late in the afternoon, the sun just beginning its descent over the horizon. All over Konohagakure no Sato, villagers and shinobi alike were busy. In Konoha, there were typically two busy times of the day. Once in the morning when the general population started to get ready for the day, and the other in the midway point between afternoon and evening. This was 'transition time' for the village, when day-time vendors would close their stalls and night-time vendors (usually restaurants or food stalls) would open up for the dinner rush. The shinobi of the village would be hurrying to Hokage Tower to hand in their mission reports before the majority of the office went home and only the crusty, ancient, secretary with her disapproving glares was left.

Usually, Sakura would be one face of many trying to get home during this rush hour, fighting her way through busy streets crowded with civilians carrying their groceries for supper. She would settle into her small one-bedroom apartment, nestled above a barbeque restaurant in the hub of Konoha, and would open up her fridge, realise she didn't get groceries, and eventually make her way downstairs, where the kindly old proprietor of the restaurant would have a plate waiting for her. This time though, the plate was still there, even as the sun continued its journey downward, the skies of Konoha darkening slowly. The old man cast it a worried glance but spared it little thought as he headed over to serve the many patrons of his restaurant. The young, pink-haired child came second to managing his business, despite his affection towards her. After all, the business put food on the table for his family, the pinkette didn't. Still though, he hoped she would come soon otherwise the plate of food would get cold, and he had always hated to see the child go without hot food.

Sakura knew this, and though she felt guilty making the restaurant owner worry, she couldn't find it in herself to get up from her hiding spot. It had been hours since she had arrived here and yet she did not seem to notice. It was only this morning that Team 7 had arrived back from their disastrous mission in the Land of Waves and everything was such a whirlwind after the Hokage, the Elders, and the interrogation team interviewed them. For new genin to have a run-in with a missing-nin like Momochi Zabuza was unheard of and the fact that Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were involved sent the higher-ups into a tizzy. Though the genin were unaware of this, they were still left exhausted and perhaps a little emotionally frayed after having to re-live their ordeal over and over again.

"_Maybe that was part of the reason Sasuke-kun snapped when I asked him out." _Sakura thought, but even in her own mind, that excuse sounded weak. _"Weak. Am I really that weak?" _She paused, waiting for the confidence of her inner persona to shine through, but for once, there was nothing. She swung her feet a little over the slow-moving river she was perched by, hidden in a small alcove of forest. For a moment she watched the pink nail polish adorning her toes catch the last rays of sunlight, sparkling merrily. They were done meticulously, like everything else that Sakura set her mind to. Though thinking back on it now, she wondered why she even bothered. It hardly seemed like a good use of her time now.

"_He's right though, in all our missions, I'm the one who does the least. The one who always has to be saved." _She thought with a scowl, _"Is this really where I want to be? Sasuke-kun and Naruto are just going to keep growing and I'll be left behind. I gave up so much to become a shinobi and this is what I'm doing?" _

With a long sigh, she fell back against the soft grass, looking up at the vibrantly coloured sky.

"**Okay, I admit, our shinobi career is off to a less than stellar start, but we can catch up! No, we can be better!" **spoke Inner, finally.

"_What's the point? Even I know I don't have the raw talent that the boys do. I don't have any fancy bloodlines, I'm not even that fit! The only thing I'm good at is learning, but what's the use of learning a new jutsu if I don't have the reserves to execute it?"_

Though she wasn't usually one to call defeat before even trying, the mission to Wave had been harrowing for all of them and Sasuke-kun's harsh words had only made that feeling of inadequacy worse. So for once, she just wanted to mope. Of course, that was a lost cause.

"**Idiot, do you think you can get any better with an attitude like that? Do you think you're the first civilian-born kunoichi to ever exist? Do you think that Hokage-sama was just born great? Do you think-"**

"_Inner, get to the point please." _She interrupted, knowing that if she let her, Inner had a tendency to ramble until she was out of breath, which is a long time when you're a mental construct with no physical lungs.

"**My point is, not having a bloodline doesn't mean you can't be great. Your test scores in the academy were some of the highest scores on record, that's not nothing. We have a gift that most people don't. We think. Learning theories, creating theories, planning, that stuff is your strength. You can develop physical strength, but I'd argue it's much harder to just 'become smart'."**

For a moment, Sakura was stunned. _"You…you really put a lot of thought into that. Where did all this come from?"_

"**It's always been here, in the back of your mind. You just have a tendency to obsess over things. Your nails, Sasuke-kun, whatever it is, you fixate on it, which makes it hard to think about anything else. Which makes me do the same."**

Sakura pondered this for a moment, curious to where the ditzy, Sasuke-obsessed inner went. _"You know, I don't think we've ever been over this? What are you exactly?" _For as long as Sakura could remember, inner has always been a part of her, giving her strength, belittling her enemies with insults Sakura would be too afraid to ever say out loud.

"…**honestly…I don't really know. The separation of you and me…it's blurry. Our goals, wishes, desires, they're the same, but aside from that…"** she trailed off. The was a brief moment of silence in Sakura's mind as she waited for her inner voice to gather her thoughts. **"It's like…it's like a tree. We have the same roots, the same trunk, but as for the branches, they're different. We think differently. But it's all very confusing. You should really see a psychiatrist." **Inner quipped.

Sakura was starting to get a headache herself just thinking about it. But she pushed those thoughts aside for now and pondered the idea of training. Inner's speech had actually motivated her to try and reflecting back on it, part of her had always been afraid, afraid to fail, so she had never bothered to try and push herself beyond what she was sure she could accomplish. For once, she wanted to see what she could achieve through hard work. With a determined gleam in her eye, she stood up. And in the dying light of the sun, she began her journey to Hokage Tower.

"_So, where do we start?"_

* * *

Starting, as it turned out, meant pestering the Hokage for access to the scroll vaults. Inside were countless scrolls that spoke of every topic under the sun, from the theoretical to the practical. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, medicine, poisions, trap arts, weapons handling, all of it and more were available for the shinobi of Konoha to peruse, depending on your rank. Being a new genin, Sakura would only have access to the academy vaults. When she was a genin for at least 3 months, or had 15 completed missions under her belt, she would get access to the first vault. Hence the visit to the Hokage. With a permission slip from him, she could enter whatever vault he gave her access too. It was worth a shot.

"Sarutobi-sama." Sakura said, bowing politely. Luckily after sunset, the tower was relatively empty. Though a busy man, Sarutobi had a policy of keeping an open door to visitors.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, this is a rare visit, what can I do for you?" The old man asked kindly, from behind his mountains of paperwork.

"I would like access to the scroll vaults, as many as I can get. I'm looking to increase my training," She explained. She quickly added, "I promise I'll take good care of them!"

Though there was nothing wrong with what she was doing, in fact, it was admirable to see a young shinobi taking initiative with their training, Sarutobi couldn't help but ponder at the genin's sudden nerve. The girl had remarkable academic scores, but over the years of lacklustre comments by her teachers, he was ready to write her off as a career chunin and be done with it. Realizing that his stare was making the poor girl uncomfortable, he smiled at her as he asked, "Well, that's an interesting request. Before I approve it, may I ask what brought this on?"

She stuttered a second, before sighing softly, a faint blush on her cheeks as she quietly spoke, "I…I'm tired of being so weak. I'm tired of dragging the team down and I'm tired of needing to be saved. I want to be strong on my own. I want to be able to protect my village." She said, fists clenching in determination. Seeing the Hokage's observing stare, she began to fidget again.

"Uhm...Sarutobi-sama?" She asked timidly.

The old man started, "Ah yes! My apologies Sakura-chan, I was merely observing what a change a little determination can make in a person," he said, smiling wisely. He handed out a small slip of paper. "This will get you access to vaults 1 and 2. When you've done all you can with them, come back and see me. I'll write you another slip for vaults 3 and 4."

Sakura stood, shocked. She grasped the paper, checking to see that he was indeed telling the truth. She had honestly expected to be declined. She certainly didn't expect him to authorize vault 2 with an offer to return for another permission slip for vaults 3 and 4.

"B-but sir... vaults 3 and 4 are for high ranking chunnin and low ranking jounin! Even vault 2 is designed for a chunnin!" She exclaimed, flustered.

With a wise smile, Sarutobi replied, "Yes, but intelligence should always be encouraged, especially for those as talented as you. I have faith that you will be able to handle those scrolls," he remarked casually, "just promise me you'll work hard, okay Sakura-chan?"

Sakura nodded vigorously, still in shock. With a final smile, Sarutobi returned to his paperwork, an obvious dismissal. As she exited the office, she heard a soft, "good luck," before she closed the door. She turned back, not sure if she had imagined it but it was too late, the door clicking shut firmly behind her. After a couple minutes, the information finally sunk in. Sakura grinned, letting out a small girlish squeal, to which Inner Sakura raised an eyebrow. She headed back down the stairs from the Hokage's office at a brisk pace, smiling cheerily to the grumpy secretary that was looking at her suspiciously. Brandishing the permission slip in front of her Sakura politely asked to be admitted to the scroll vaults. Snatching her permission slip rudely, the secretary perused it carefully before reluctantly handing it back to the pink-haired youth and buzzing her in. She quickly raced off to the scroll vaults to pick up her new treasures, hearing angry squawks from the secretary telling her to stop running.

It was a challenge to pick just a few scrolls. She would have taken them all if the scroll vaults didn't have a three-scroll cap for each of its patrons. Eventually, she exited with 3 new scrolls, one each for taijustsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. She figured she at least knew the basics from her time in the academy, but it would be good to brush up on the theory behind each of the main shinobi disciplines. She had read through most of the academy vaults in her leisure time when she wasn't chasing Sasuke-kun, but this would be her first higher ranking scroll. Hopefully the information inside these scrolls would make learning the three arts easier for her.

For the first time in a long time, Sakura was excited to do something other than think about her crush.

**And that's the rewritten chapter 1. Let me know what you guys think. This ended up being more than double the length of the original first chapter, so this story may take a while lol. Please review!**

**Just a note here, some of my timelines are probably off, I'm going to claim artistic licence on that. It's been a long time since I watched Naruto, I don't know the finer details.**


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